CNET on Win8 Tablet Pricing:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57...eyes-the-ipad/
Quote:
And what about that rumored $199 Microsoft Surface tablet that theoretically would compete with Google's $199 Nexus 7?
For guidance, I have been told repeatedly by Microsoft that "suggested retail pricing...is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC." (The same statement Microsoft made in June when it launched Surface.)
And I was told yesterday by someone familiar with Microsoft's Surface strategy that "comparable" does not apply to a 7-inch tablet, like the Nexus 7. Comparable products are 10-inch class tablets with the latest versions of Android from a first-tier player like Samsung.
So, that means theoretically that Surface RT and other RT products could compete with a low-end 10-inch class Wi-Fi-only Android product from Samsung, for example.
Whatever the case, all of the low-end 10-inch class Android tablets from top-tier vendors, like the $399 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, are competing with the $399 iPad 2.
But $199? I'll leave that to readers to speculate (e.g., $199 with a monthly Microsoft subscription), but I don't see any new 10-inch $199 tablets from Samsung, Motorola, or Asus
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They also quote IDC on expected shipment numbers for 2012 and the likelihood of $199 pricing:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57...lets-says-idc/
Quote:
Production plans are for a few million units for calendar 2012, said IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell in a phone interview. "Probably a little over 3 million, both [Intel] x86 and ARM," he said. Surface RT is built around ARM processors and will not support older "legacy" software that runs on Windows 7. Intel-based Surface will run Windows 8 Pro that does run legacy software.
"If they build a few million units there's no way they can sell it through Microsoft store only," he said, referring to Microsoft's current plan. "So I think that they'll sell it through traditional retail also. You can't build that many products without having a much wider distribution strategy. They just haven't shared that [strategy] yet," he said.
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